1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a storage rack assembly for storing loaded pallets and to a storage system which allows the user to select and retrieve items from the front and from the sides of pallets thus stored.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Storage systems which can accommodate four loaded pallets side-by-side are known in the art. Typically, the pallets are either stored on a floor or on a low shelf supported by stanchions anchored to the floor. The remaining pallets are, generally, located above the other two on spaced parallel support beams, again side-by-side, and usually, at chest level so that the user can conveniently pick off the loaded pallets from the front. In this system, storage racks can be joined together horizontally, vertically, and back-to-back to create multiple rack assemblies which, if more than two deep, can be serviced by fork lifts with deep-reach ability. Once the pallet load has been exhausted the empty pallet is removed by hand. If the system includes a mezzanine the two pallet levels above the mezzanine can usually be reached without a lift.
In push-back systems which serve multiple loads, the loaded pallets are put onto rolling carts and, when unloading occurs, the empty pallet can is removed by hand to make room for the next pallet load, which rolls forward automatically on an inclined track. In this system loading and picking is done from the same side. By contrast, in a pallet flow system pallet loading takes place on one side of the racks and picking on the opposite side, with loaded pallets stored between.
All such systems suffer a common problem; their respective bays are as a rule only slightly wider than two pallets and these are supported on horizontal support beams. As a result, picking by hand at any level and particularly on ground or mezzanine level can be accomplished only from the front of a pallet so that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to pick from the rear at floor level.